Neighbors Celebrate Demise of West Hayden Island Annexation With a Cake

Hayden Island Neighborhood Network cake.

If anybody was happier than Bob Sallinger to hear the Port of Portland had sailed out of a development deal for West Hayden Island, it was the residents of nearby manufactured homes and houseboats. 

Sallinger, the conservation director for the Audubon Society of Portland, and the members of the Hayden Island Neighborhood Network were among the earliest and most dedicated opponents of a deep-water marine terminal on 300 of the island's acres.

So when the Port told Mayor Charlie Hales on Wednesday it was scuttling annexation plans—and Hales responded that he was happy to let the deal die—Sallinger and neighbors were delighted.

How delighted? They made a cake.

Sallinger spoke at a meeting of the Hayden Island Neighborhood Network on Thursday night. City Commissioner Amanda Fritz dropped in, and posted a photo of the celebratory confection on Twitter.

Sallinger sent a note to Hayden Island neighbors Thursday.

"This is the biggest win we could have hoped for in this process and frankly the odds against us every step of the way were staggering," he wrote. "It shows the power of grassroots activism. Thank you all so much for your perseverance and tenacity and willingness to keep fighting year after year."

WWeek 2015

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